Couple allowed to visit kids who slept in cages

December 29, 2005

NORWALK, Ohio (AP) -- Adoptive parents accused of making their special-needs children sleep in cages will be allowed a holiday visit with them this week, a judge ruled. Juvenile Court Judge Timothy Cardwell ruled Tuesday that Michael and Sharen Gravelle could have a two-hour visit with the 11 children by the end of the year. The Gravelles' lawyer had requested a visit so that the couple could give the youngsters gifts. The visit is to take place at a Huron County-supervised location. The date was not specified. Last week, Cardwell ruled that the couple abused some of the 11 children, who range in age from 1 to 14, by making them sleep in wooden cages without pillows or mattresses. The children were removed from the couple's home in September. The Gravelles have not been charged with a crime and denied abuse. They said they built the cages in 2003 to protect the children, who have a host of health and behavioral problems, from each other and themselves. The children will remain in foster care until Cardwell holds a hearing on who should get custody. In court documents opposing the motion on the visit, a county social worker said such visits might hurt the children's mental state.